Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem are walking away from plans to merge after a federal judge's ruling Tuesday against the deal.

U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso on Tuesday granted the Federal Trade Commission and state of Illinois' request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the merger — a decision that capped more than a year of court battles.

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After the decision, NorthShore CEO Mark Neaman wrote to employees that the system would not move forward with the proposed union. "We have determined with the Advocate Health Care leadership that the time, cost, and uncertainty of pursuing any additional appeals would not be worthwhile," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Tad Lipsky, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said in a statement the FTC was "delighted" with the ruling and the systems' decision to back away from their proposed merger.

The judge filed his opinion under seal to give those involved in the case time to request competitively sensitive information be redacted before the opinion is released publicly.

The systems' decision to drop their proposed merger comes after they first announced plans to unite in September 2014 and follows several rounds in court. The proposal would have created the 11th largest health care system in the U.S., combining Advocate's 11 hospitals and two-campus children's hospital with NorthShore's four hospitals.

Downers Grove-based Advocate and Evanston-based NorthShore had said a marriage between them would lead to improvements in care and lower costs for patients. They planned to offer an insurance product 10 percent less expensive than the lowest-priced comparable product available, saving consumers at least $210 million a year.

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But the FTC challenged the deal in late 2015, saying it would probably hurt consumers with higher prices for health care and lower incentives to improve the quality of care. The FTC said the deal would lead to an 8 percent, or $45 million, price increase at the hospitals.

In court, much of the case centered around whether the FTC correctly defined the systems' geographic market in challenging the merger as unlawful.

"Many individuals have experienced fewer choices of healthcare providers and huge increases in out-of-pocket expenses," Neaman wrote. "During this same period, NorthShore has continued to invest in our people, technology, and facilities with record results. Building on our strong foundation, we now have the opportunity to further enhance our future as a pre-eminent healthcare delivery system — and do so for years to come."

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Skogsbergh said in his memo that the merger would have been "a big win" for consumers and health care.

"Fueled by the strength of our talented physicians, nurses and staff and the expertise of our leadership team, Advocate will continue to drive toward improving health outcomes and safety for patients and communities while lowering costs," Skogsbergh wrote. "As a national health care leader, we have every intention of continuing to innovate and advance the care delivery model building on our success over this last decade."

The case was closely watched, both the Chicago area and nationally. In recent years, many health care providers across the country have merged. Providers say it is a way to lower costs and improve quality, though others say the combinations are a way to boost negotiating leverage with insurers.